Public Statements

Ros-Lehtinen Calls on Obama Administration and Senate to Act to Punish the Maduro Regime for Violating Venezuelans' Human Rights

Statement

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, made the following statement urging the United States Senate and the Obama Administration to enact legislation sanctioning Maduro regime officials who are responsible for human rights violations. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"It's been 48 days since the U.S. House of Representatives passed my bill, H.R. 4587 -- the Venezuela Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act -- sanctioning the Maduro regime for gross human rights violations. It's pathetic that the Senate has yet to pass this bill and that the Obama administration has not followed through with sanctions against this oppressive regime that commits violent acts with impunity, with Leopoldo Lopez still being unjustly held and Maria Corina Machado not being allowed to travel outside Venezuela.

"Secretary Kerry recently brokered a deal in Afghanistan regarding elections but that leadership has been absent in Venezuela and across the Western Hemisphere where leaders continue to undermine democracy at the ballot box by stealing elections. I also urge my colleagues in the Senate to stop dithering and pass HR 4587, seeking to make the Maduro regime stop its repressive tactics and ban the access to luxuries that the regime enablers enjoy in the United States."